One thing that is really annoying here on mission, people treat me like I am a district leader. Even my District leader treats me like I am a district leader. It is always, "how are the other guys investigators coming along" or "Hey did you get the information about this meeting" or something along those lines. I am NOT a leader. I am simply a missionary trying to find, teach, and baptize. I am perfectly fine with being someone president trusts to carry out assignments in the area, and all that good stuff, but I am not a leader and it is just weird being treated like one.
Okay, picture this, my companion and I are tracting, and we walk up to the open door of the house. In this situation culturally you don't knock first, you call out "goi goi goih" which basically means "knock knock knock." in Shona. Right so my companion walks up and calls it out, like a tiny mouse trying not to be found by the big cat. In Cali my companions and I would say "knock like you want to be heard" when we would walk up to a door. Now when I call out "goi goi goih" it is usually in my big old "gonna call a huddle" football player voice that might shake the house apart. The difference is really funny, he has started telling me to call out to the people in the house because of how loud I am. Does that surprise anyone?
I love my companion but it is the funniest thing. Right, English is his second language, and it seems like Shona doesn't use pronouns, like one word refers to a man and a woman, depending on context. So he will be telling a story and start by saying, "so this lady was going to..." right and then at one point in the story he will say "so when he got there she..." and I blink and ask him if the main character has changed. I've started calling him Strax, the name of a Sauntarin in Doctor Who that can't tell the difference between a male human and a female human. It has become a bit of a joke for us, and we both laugh.
So, got a call a week or so ago and was told that there is a package for me at mission office. I knew you loved me. Now the issue is, how do they get it to me? That is the pickle. I hope they find a way to do it soon, opening Christmas presents in January just seems like it will take the fun out of it.
The area is doing great. We had three people baptized on Saturday, Sister Matosi, and Panashe and Lindsay Nyamutora. The Nyamutora's were baptized by their dad, who is progressing towards advancement in the priesthood. I got to baptize sister Matosi. I love seeing the group grow. Hopefully in January at the latest we will become our own branch, and hopefully much sooner then that we will be in a better place to have meetings. It sounds like this will probably be my final transfer in Chegutu, which means if that is case, then I got till Feb to get the work done. Can I do it? We will see. The children are great out here. They see me walk past and they come, like they are gonna greet me and welcome me to munchkin land, and they come running just yelling "elder Melot" it is kind of scary, like a whole group of them will chase me, the funniest thing is they pronounce my name best of almost everyone. When we are at church they will come and I'll be reading or something and they will slip into my arms with a huge smile on their faces, and the adults laugh about it. Often times the other missionaries will say "Suffer the little Children" and they laugh. The kids love all of the missionaries, but they flock to me in herds.
My companion is doing great. He has really gotten the area down, and things are going really really well. He is a great teacher, and he has a powerful testimony. I love it.
"love should be the very heart of family life."
-Thomas S Monson 16th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
"Kind words and good manners will cost you nothing, and will add greatly to the happiness of those around you."
-Wilford Woodruff 4th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
"There is a destiny that makes us brothers; none goes his way alone. All that we send into the lives of others, comes back into out own."
-Edwin Markham
The children out here really give me a testimony of pure love. Most of the ones in the area, don't know who I am, they just hear the others yelling my name, but they still come running with smiles on their faces. They love all those around them. There is one little boy, Devine, the son of a recent convert, who when ever he looks at me will just smile and try to mimic me baptizing someone. "There is beauty all around when there's love at home" is such a true fact. I know that God sent us here to learn many things, including how to love those around us. I know as we love them we will receive that love. Reach out to those who are down trodden, lift the hands that hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees, and one day when you need it, you will receive like wise. I know it I live it I love it.
"Don't worry, we're on her like stink on a warthog. Hey! Its a hard truth Pumba live with it."
"I believe I made my position to your boss very clear. You put prune juice in his gas tank."
"Don't worry for once we aren't following ya, were trying to wrestle up some grubs."
"I'll give you some change for the bus fare, nah I got a bus pass. That's gotta be like a million transfers to get home from here."
I love you all.
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